1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a computer-readable recording medium storing an image processing program in which a color profile to be required is formed when an arbitrary color image signal is converted into a color of a color image outputting apparatus or a virtual device whose gamut is restricted to a certain degree. The present invention is suitably used in a color displaying device such as a color liquid crystal device, color image forming apparatuses such as a color facsimile machine, a color printer, and a color copying apparatus, and color printer software for a personal computer and a workstation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a technology for forming a color profile. In Patent Document 1, plural color profiles have been prepared beforehand, a user selects a desirable color profile based on, for example, the age and residential area of the user, processes an image by using the selected color profile, corrects again the processed image by using his/her own preference, and a desirable print image is obtained. In Patent Document 2, a desirable color reproduction for a user is obtained by reflecting a color reproduction tendency based on an impression to be given to human eyes, based on a subjective evaluation result with the use of a color patch.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-234251    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H10-290375
However, as described above, in Patent Document 1, the user preference is selected by using the age and the residential area of the user. For example, in a blue color (sRGB(R, G, B)=(0, 0, 256)), the hue of the blue color may be near cyan or magenta, and the luminance of the blue color may be light or dark. That is, the preferences of users are different from each other, and even if a manufacturer supplies color profiles to the users, the color profiles may not be suitable for each user.
In Patent Document 2, a color preference tendency has been made to be a model by using the color patches and the model is utilized to form the color profile. In the subjective evaluation by using the color patches, a desirable color can be specified. However, the preference of the gradation reproducibility cannot be obtained even if the specified color has a desirable hue.
When the user preference is to be reflected in a color profile, it is desirable that the user preference be included in the color profile when the color profile is formed. However, in a gamut mapping technology for forming the color profile, much know-how exists in color output quality, for example, in reproduction of a smooth gradation of an image while utilizing efficiency of the color image forming apparatus. Consequently, it is difficult for a user who is not an expert of the gamut mapping technology to easily form a color profile in which the user preference is reflected with high quality.